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Last night, we checked out the now institutionalized Top Gear Live show at the Northgate Dome. This is my third visit, and I must say that the show is somewhat formulaic. Instead of Hammond, Clarkson had Captain Slow in tow, as well as local petrolhead wannabe Martinengo.

Let’s say my five year old enjoyed the show immensely. Here are some photos of the performance and the display area, starting with the interior of the Nissan GT-R.

The Koenigsegg.

Clarkson‘s here. And so is Martinengo…

Car on fire.

James May on his front-wheel drive motorbike. The front wheels are driven by two weed eaters.

James May inside the cage of death with a motorbike. Later on, four motorbikes would be whizzing round and round. Minus May, of course.

Clarkson riding a model jet engine powered bicycle.

Car display. Better than in years gone by. This time, a McLaren Mercedes made it to our shores.

A crowd favourite. Car football.

Finally. The Stig.

In a clear bid to attack the current set of favourite utility vehicles in the local market, Volkswagen‘s commercial vehicle division has developed a pickup truck that will soon be available for purchase. The Amarok is a rather attractive one Tonner, very similar to the Toyota Hilux which is the current market leader in its segment.

Available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive variants, the Amarok will initially be available only as a double cab and later as a single cab vehicle. Volkswagen claims the car is as rugged as its Japanese counterparts and will be more than capable of hauling more than a ton on its loading bay and two tons in tow.

Interior appointments are on par with current Volkswagen vehicles and a variety of power plants and options will be available at the time of launch.

There is no pricing available yet and no information regarding the standard options the base vehicle will be delivered with. Volkswagen generally sells cars at a slight premium and makes a fair number of appointments available only as a list of options carrying a hefty price tag. Then there’s the question of whether or not one would really wish a load of 500 bricks to be dumped on the back of a VW… it’s not a question of capability, simply one of preconceived notions. Somehow, something like is just more natural when driving a Toyota…

The Citi Golf has been discontinued.

Let’s see whether Volkswagen is able to provide a new people’s car.

For times when Batman simply has to fit his Batmobile into a narrow parking space, the new addition to the Batcave garage may prove handy. Designed by George Barris, the designer of the iconic 1960′s movie Batmobile, the BatSmart is a modern take on a classic theme.

Based on the popular Smart, the BatSmart features a make-believe turbine and rocket launchers.The interior has been customized to appear more Bat-like and a suitable body kit has been applied.

Maybe enough to scare fellow road users at first glance, the BatSmart has a good chance of being run over by a Hummer…

More pictures of this unique vehicle can be seen here.

Too much of the vino would probably be a bad idea in combination with the Veritas RSIII. A supercar of which only thirty-odd will be produced, it’s a roadster with a difference.

Since the first BMW Veritas won a number of races in 1949, Vermot AG produces their handmade racers in the pits at the Nürburgring.

Aggressive styling is complemented by some brute force from the 5l, V10 powerplant: just over 500HP propel the RSIII from zero to 100km/h in three seconds. Top speed is 360km/h.

The interior trimmings are fairly basic: a steering wheel, gearshift and leather seats. What more does one need in a fast car?

The Toyota FT-86 is a concept car that may well make it to the production line. Styled and designed as a collaborative effort between Toyota and Subaru, the FT-86 is somewhat smaller than a Nissan 370Z, though it looks quite a bit larger in the photos.

The Toyota FT-86 is powered by a 2.0l engine that powers the rear wheels. A six speed gearbox should ensure a speed above the legal speed limit is reached without effort.

Set to make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Ferrari 458 Italia is one of the best looking Ferrari creations to appear in quite some time. The power unit is a 4.5l V8 that should propel the car from a standstill to over 100km/h in just over 3 seconds.

Its top speed is above the 300km/h mark. To get to that top speed, a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox provides slick gearshifts.

Very nice.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll have noticed that I’m no great fan of the Volkswagen Citi Golf. Let me explain. The Citi Golf is a Golf 1, making the model more than thirty years old. It’s indestructible, robust and well-built. What else would you expect from a  German car?

But, it’s really old. Modifications and additions cannot a safer carriage make. There’s little to do about comfort, seating position and those tiny side mirrors. Well-loved, perhaps, but ultimately a cash cow for Volkswagen who still assemble the Citi using 65% or more components from the first generation Golf. My argument is thus: with 65% of components still being manufactured using 30 year old machinery, the Citi Golf should have become the real people’s car: super cheap and absolutely affordable. Instead, prices climbed as is to be expected and a new Citi Golf is not even cheaper than the cheapest, more modern car on the market. Certainly no bargain, the entry-level TenaCiti (how many more names can we come up with that include Citi) costs a whopping ZAR 82,000.

As a simple counter example, the Hyundai Atos Prime 1.1 can be bought for under ZAR 80,000. Maybe not an entirely fair apples to apples comparison, but at least that’s a modern car. Sure, it may not last and may have other issues, but is built with modern safety design principles in mind. The Citi has been showing its age for a long, long time. 2010, and it’s over.

Next year, Volkswagen will be ending production and selling the last of the Citi Golf units it has standing around. Amusingly, VW has no model in its lineup that can take the Citi‘s place, so the competition is certain to pounce on that opportunity. A lesson to be learned then, for companies milking the consumer with an outmoded piece of technology only to find they forgot to design something that could take its place when the product’s shelf life extended beyond the reasonable.

The South African Beetle will be no more: fans of the Citi may want to acquire a piece of South African motoring history for themselves, before it’s all over.

via Stern

Matt W. Moore is a cutting-edge artist who is commissioned by many well-known companies. I’m not sure what the deal is with the Mini, but the artwork is certainly eye-catching:

By far a more enjoyable way to help the Earth along is replacing that gas guzzler with an electric vehicle. Currently, choices are severely limited, and that is not set to change any time soon. At least, 2011 should see the delivery of the stunning TESLA Model S to its first owners. The new TESLA model has been revealed and has an impressive list of specifications, plus a shape that should make Ferrari owners envious.

Incredibly, this sleek mobile seats five adult passengers and two kids and is said to have a hatch large enough to accommodate a mountain bike. The largest battery has enough juice to power the TESLA S over a distance of 450km and the quickcharge refills the battery in under an hour.

Performance is blistering, pushing the S from 0 to 90km/h in less than six seconds with a top speed of about 160km/h.